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Faith o' Nine
"Long ago, 10th our GOD made humankind from mud and blood to be the children of longmen and fogmen. He was as one, Eternity Himself, and became as nine gods, creating this earth, and the sky, and the war between them." — Unforbidden - 1.1.1The Faith o' Nine is a monotheistic faith holding that long ago, one god named 10th split himself into nine pieces, which became nine gods. These nine gods are said to each be fully their own persons and are each fully part of 10th, and that at least eight of these gods have lived fully human lives as avatars among humankind. The Faith o' Nine is the majority faith of the Delklands, Haruirrin, Ninety-Nine-Thousandtowers, the City at the Pass, Saia-Saia, the Irrinisians, and the largest minority faith of Eiharu, Thunderstruck, Reynlenn, Lohth, the City of Foe-Breakers, Celmetes, Anasia's City, and the Sefenlands. It was the official faith of the Delkish Empire, and its Imperial House of Messoloriha. It is the official faith of Haruirrin, and Ninety-Nine-Thousandtowers. It has over 220,000,000 followers worldwide, including about 120,000,000 in the Delklands (~55% its population, 60,000,000 from Crahia - ~99% its population, 20,000,000,000 from Lobott - ~ 99% its population, 10,000,000 from Flotch - ~50% its population, 10,000,000 from the New Coldlands -~75% its population, 10,000,000 from the Far West - ~12% its population, about 5,000,000 from Telf - ~25% its population, and Estlenn combined (including Bredenn - ~30% its population) - ~10% its population, and about 5,000,000 from Ires - ~50% its population, Sarpland - ~10% its population, and the Badlands combined - ~25% its population), 80,000,000 from Western Parthalenn (~40% its population, 40,000,000 from the Thousandtower Territory - 50% its population, 10,000,000 from the Parthaginian Republic - ~99% its population, 10,000,000 Irrinisians - ~75% their population, 2,500,000 from both Thunderstruck, and the City of Foe-Breakers - ~25% both their populations, ~15,000,000 from the Anasic Empire - ~ 20% its population), ~10,000,000 in the Sefenlands - ~10% its population, most of whom live in the Delkish Sefenlands or the West Wing, and 5,000,000 from both Sayerthenn, and the Kinglands - ~2.5% both their populations. The Faith o' Nine is one of the Enntheonic Faiths, a branch of the Noonic Faiths, which themselves make up the largest branch of Parpolytheistic Faiths, the faiths originating, at least in part, from the polytheistic, animist faiths of the Illicatishmen living in Western Parthalenn before the arrival of the Ayish Kingdom. It is neither truly polytheistic, nor animist, and like the Arachnoid Faiths, the other large branch of the Noonic Faiths, it holds that there are these nine gods: Yornn, Ana, Mattes, Saye, Enn, Elkett, Tarttes, Nari, and Canetol. Unlike the Arachnoid Faiths that hold that the other eight gods bow to Ana (whom they call both Anasia, and Iksas), the Faith o' Nine holds that these nine gods are part of one true God. These gods all have specific domains which they rule over: Yornn is the God-From-the-Lightning, the God-Frozen, the God-in-the-Breeze, the Prince of the Gods, King of Eternity, Father of Fathers, and Father on Third Earth; Ana is the Goddess-in-the-Flames, Goddess-in-the-Stone, and Goddess o' Fuck, wife of Yornn, Pregnant Princess, Queen of Eternity, Mother of Mothers, and Mother on Third Earth; Mattes is the God-of-the-Shadow, God o' the Ninthlife, God-of-Evil, brother to Yornn, Warden of Eternity, and Father on that Earth; Saye is the Goddess-in-the-Shine, Goddess-Beyond-the-Blood, Goddess-that-Prospers, Goddess-o'-Kings-&-Queens, wife of Mattes, sister of Ana, and Bearer of Eternity; Enn is the God-Beneath-the-Greenery, God-of-Peace, God-in-the-Music, God o' Fertility (or God o' Gardens), God-in-Knowledge, and Caretaker of Eternity; Elkett is the God-of-Slaves-&-Slavery, the God-of-Suffering, the God-of-the-Hunt (or the God o' Spears), the God-of-our-Hearts (or the God o' Souls), son of Mattes, Godson of Yornn (who lends him his lightning), Hunter of Hunters, Tailor of Tailors (in both senses, as He is also the God-of-the-Skilled), the Twin of Nari, Son of Sons, and the Patron Deity of Wytch Hunters; Tarttes is God-of-Grandeur, God-of-Explorers, God-of-Guidance, God-of-the-Great-Seas, second son of Mattes, and Saye, brother of Elkett, and Master of Mountains; Nari is the Goddess-of-Bastardry, the Goddess-of-Hornmen, the Goddess-of-Giants, the Goddess-of-Dwarves, the Goddess-Ashamed, the daughter of Mattes, and Saye, the Deviant Daughter, Devil Deity, the Twin of Elkett, and sister of Tarttes, called the Sister of Sisters, the Horndaughter, and the Patron Deity of Prostitutes. Finally, there is Canetol, the God-of-War, the God-of-Freedom, the God-of-the-Faithful, the God-of-Lealty, the God-of-Hope, the God-of-Redemption, the God-of-Forgiveness, the God-of-the-People, son of Yornn, and Ana, Slave of Slaves, Miraclemaker, Warwager, and Rebel of Rebels. These nine gods are simultaneously held to be fully their own people, and fully part of 10th. Worshippers of these gods gather for great-works at nonagogues, where they listen to sugar priests read out pages, paragraphs, and passages from the Book of Books, the holy book of the faith. The Book of Books was written by Freedmon, the finder of the faith who led 100,000 slaves out from the Rainbow City to Haruirrin. He built the first nonagouge, Freedmon's Nonagogue, in Haruirrin. By the time of Tale of Zul, however, the preeminent nonagogue of the faith was the Halfhouse in Lobtonne. The Faith o' Nine was popular amongst Sefenlander slaves before Billow's Rebellion, and after it, the slaves brought it to the newly-finded Coldlands. During Billow's Rebellion, the son of slave master Erz Black, who was de-bodied by Billow the Slave, Erzael Black, fled the Calm Isles where the rebellion was happening, and went to Snowflake Isle. There he came to live with the Last Sealhag, who was said to be gifted with foresight. She supposedly imparted him with this knowledge, and he is said to have seen visions of himself visiting Mount Beles, the tallest mountain in the Delklands. There, he was told that Billow the Slave, who led the rebellion, was the avatar of Canetol, one of the nine gods. Tenets: "10th our GOD is of the nine aspects of humankind's reality, which are: light, sound, air, water, earth, fire, life, death, and darkness. He speaks through me, saying that these each have moral, and immoral sides. The moral counterparts of these nine aspects of reality are guidance, song, prayer, baptism, fertility, sacrifice, love, honor, and hope. These are called the Truths o' Ten. Their immoral counterparts are deceit, discord, blasphemy, damnation, barrenness, narcissism, hate, shame, and despair. These are called the Natural Evils. Accordingly, the books of the Book of Books will be: Book of Guidance, Book of Deceit, Book of Song, Book of Discord, Book of Prayer, Book of Blasphemy, Book of Baptism, Book of Damnation, Book of Fertility, Book of Barrenness, Book of Sacrifice, Book of Narcissism, Book of Love, Book of Hate, Book of Honor, Book of Shame, Book of Hope, and Book of Despair." An important tenet of the Faith o' Nine is that at least eight of the gods have lived fully human lives as avatars among humankind. These avatars are sometimes called the "Crescent Crowns." The lives of these avatars are detailed in each book of the Book of Books: # The Book of Guidance is written about the Doralth, Tarttes' Avatar, a wealthy lord who became lost at sea. The Doralth had led an extravagant lifestyle before becoming lost at sea whilst fishing. On open sea, his ships and men were all washed away whilst he floated along on a wooden board. A mighty beastfish, servant to the great primordial plate-headed fish Rahab, swallowed him whole. Within the belly of the beast, the Doralth saw the face of 10th. He saw him raze wicked cities, drain oceans, blow at mountains as though they were leaves in the wind. He saw him create Rahab at the beginning of things, and destroy him at the end of things. And then god told him what to do, and the great lord, so humbled was he, that he went and did it, becoming a preaching peasant. # The Book of Deceit is written about God King Ferb, Mattes' 1st Avatar, who created the modern-day calendar, and whose influence is felt even today. Supposedly, God King Ferb became King only through scheming, lying, and brutality. # The Book of Song is written about the Wyzard Lok (known simply as the Wiseman to the Faith of Anasia), Enn's 1st Avatar, who led his people out from the Western Continent, and down the Anasic Great-Sea to the Crescent Continent. Wyzard Lok is notable for breaking Thy Isle in half (into Thy Isle, and what would become Anasia's Isle), and also for the story of the Talking River, wherein the River Finger froze time around him, and spoke to him through a magickal wheel # The Book of Discord is written about Sano Pret, Mattes' 2nd Avatar, who persecuted the so-called 'Stonemen' of the Western Continent. # The Book of Prayer is written about Aye the Queen, Ana's Avatar, who expanded Her Empire to all the corners of this Earth. Aye the Queen is by far the most-famous, and most well-known of the avatars. The most famous story in this book is the story of King Yulas the Wise having a vision of his future daughter (Aye) as a hornwoman, with golden horns, and red wings wrapped around this Earth. # The Book of Blasphemy is written about Ferron the Faithless, Mattes' 3rd Avatar, who was a non-believer, and who died when an angry cow he was attempting to slaughter trampled him. # The Book of Baptism is written about Jonos the Shepherd, Yornn's Avatar, who could not travel to a city until the day he died; he was finally baptized into his faith an hour before his death at the hands of Mattes' 4th Avatar. Baptism, and anointings are done in water from the Free Seas. # The Book of Damnation is written about Dantohel, Mattes' 4th Avatar, who was lynched after murdering Jonos the Shepherd, and who was the first human to enter Mattes' Great-Hall. Therein, he came to learn that the whores and the politicians were damned, doomed, and dead. He was allowed to explore the Pillars of Pain, the Quadrilaterals of Doom, the Crow Circles, and the Trapezoids of Terror before being forgiven, and being allowed to ascend into Third Earth (essentially "heaven"). # The Book of Fertility is written about Marry the Mother, Saye's Avatar, a noble goodlady who was disinherited after being raped, and giving birth to a hornwoman. Marry's daughter went on to become a mighty Queen of Parthage, and Marry was remembered for being the greatest mother who ever lived. This book is by far the longest, at over 3,000 pages detailing the complex political climate of Parthage, the life of Marry before being raped, during her pregnancy, and her life raising her daughter, and her daughter's rise to power. # The Book of Barrenness is written about Tonos, Mattes' 5th Avatar, the rapist of Marry, who was born to a mother after eight miscarriages. Tonos is perhaps the most human of all the characters depicted in the Book of Books. According to Freedmon "Books like that of Aye the Queen, and God King Ferb are not so much divinely inspired but also researched; not so with the Book of Barrenness, which was nearly entirely divinely inspired, as the life of Mattes flashed before mine own eyes." # The Book of Sacrifice is written about Queen Ayaji of Parthage, Nari's Avatar, the daughter of Marry, and Tonos, who oversaw the City of Parthage during the fall of the Rainish Magickal Glory. For forty years, she defended her city, and remained leal to her Glorious Emperor, but eventually, she died, and the city fell to ruin under Sayerthenner, and Harish control. She is remembered as a hero in Haruirrin, the city that Parthage would go on to become. Her holding out made it possible for Parthagin and his successor Parthaginius the Great to establish control of the Parthaginian Republic as a reformed Glory. # The Book of Narcissism is written about Narikishi, Mattes' 6th Avatar, a Celmetish boy-Whore who fancied himself a hero, and a dragonslayer. Narikishi walked into a dragonslair, having been asked to do so by many women whom he had slept with. The dragon which he had attempted to challenge was Smoke the Awful, the last wild dragon. Smoke was an intelligent creature, and had set a trap within his lair. Mirrors on either side of his cave would allow him to see any intruders, but would not allow them to see him. Narikishi was so enthralled with his own reflection that he did not see Smoke until the mirror before him broke. "And this earth shook at the mighty dragonstir." Luckily for Celmetes, the women had poisoned Narikishi, and Smoke died that night. This story is where the phrase "smoke, and mirrors" comes from, along with the word narcissist. # The Book of Love is written about Groll of the Grove, Elkett's Avatar, who did not love a woman, but hunting. He was strong, athletic, and handsome, and he came to learn to love all living things when he accidentally speared through a little girl. He prayed all day, and all night for her to live, promising the gods that he would never hunt again. She lived, but the gods revealed her true nature as a doe unto him. He understood, and went to a sacrificial altar, wherein animals are sacrificed to the gods. He made the animals as children in the eyes of others, and from that day on, the practice of sacrificing animals has disappeared from Western Parthalenn. Enn said of this book "Twas difficult to write, Aye, tears made the ink wet, and oftentimes I had to write once again mine own sentences." # The Book of Hate is written about Alin the Abominable, Mattes' 7th Avatar, who was a warlych responsible for the creation of the Death of Humankind, an extremely infectious disease which turns its sufferers into horned abominations. Alin's actions killed millions, upon millions throughout world history. Alin himself succumbed to his terrible disease, but not before he saw his beloved lady-wife succumb to it as well. # The Book of Honor is written about Lar the Slave, Yornn's 2nd Avatar, whose pious anger "led to the death of Vayess of the Walls, the Fall of Reynlenn, and the creation of the Screaming Statues." This is thought to have been the most recent life of a god. # The Book of Shame is written about Vill the Villainous, Mattes' 8th Avatar, and a prolific rapist, who was caught, and publicly shamed. Notably, he is the only one of Mattes' nine lives that ever expressed guilt, as not even Alin the Abominable cared that deeply about his wife. Vill was actually forgiven in the story, and the birth of the Holy Harelip later on is usually attributed to the guilt that Vill would have felt. # The Book of Hope is written about Freedmon himself, Enn's 2nd Avatar. He wrote all these books, Freedmon's prescriptions were numerous, as were his deeds. Freedmon turned two men to mighty mangroves, sinking the Prince’s Palace of the Rainbow City. He turned the ashen mountains of Harlenn into a redwood grove, and turned 9,000 tailors into a single tree, the Tree of Eternity, Freedmon led his people, the Sefenlander Slaves, to Haruirrin the City of the Shadow, Freedmon told his people that he was the 2nd Avatar of Enn, the God o' Gardens, to walk amongst humankind. Freedmon wrote the eighteen books in the Book of Books. Within them, Freedmon detailed the lives of eight of the nine gods. One god was “promised.” He was Canetol, and he had yet to come. Canetol’s Coming was foretold, and with it, Canetol’s Kingdom in the Lands of Lavender, the Lands of Milk and Honey, in the Lands of the Far West. He detailed the future Birth of Canetol: "Canetol shall come for Us All in the days when the sea boils, and the desert is cold like the chains of a slave; From Him, we shall be delivered unto the Lands of Milk and Honey, the Lands of Lavender, Canetol's Kingdom shall be in the Far West, from where Sano Pret forced us out, and we shall retake it as freedmen. His arms shall be rods of gold set with topaz, and His strength will be unimaginable. To put even the Woman of the Walls to shame." Freedmon called the age between the birth of Mattes' 1st Avatar, the God King Ferb (whose life is detailed in the Book of Deceit), to the death of Yornn's 2nd Avatar, Lar the Slave, who caused the Storm of Storms - more than 4,000 years - the Era of Eight ( AT: - 0030 — CC: 4,265). # The Book of Despair is written about the Holy Harelip, Mattes' 9th Avatar. A man born as harelip, hated, and abhorred by his townspeople. However, he was a prophet in this life, and in "His Heart of Hearts," loved everyone in the world. He gave what little he had to the poor, even if they spit in his face. The Holy Harelip died alone, but never once did he despair. Worshippers hold that 10th has always been, and will always be. Erzael, said of 10th that "He is of the nine aspects of humankind's reality, which are: light, sound, air, water, earth, fire, life, death, and darkness," adding that "He is also of the tenth aspect of reality, spacetime." Erzael said also unto his followers that Freedmon: "had the right of it all, but underestimated how truly great Him our God was before He became as Nine; He was of space, and of time, which we mere mortals move through, but which to Him are no different than our skin, and our souls, and our songs are to us, His children." Erzael issued the Eternal Edicts, wrote the Slave Songs (the Song of the Captured, the Kennel, and the Rebel) which end the Book of Books, and wrote the New Book of Hope. Erzael was born with the magickal ability to see into the future, something which he believed made him holy. Erzael was simply lucky. He saw his own death at the hands of Billow, and in order to prevent it, fled to Snowflake Isle, where he lived with a woman known as the Last Sealhag. She taught him how to use his abilities, and later he supposedly saved her soul from the torture of Mattes' Great-Hall by making her the first convert to his version of Freedmon's Faith. He made pilgrimage to Mount Beles, a holy site to the Last Sealhag. With his abilities, he saw every peril on the mountain, and with his faith, he was able to reach its summit. He saw into its future, and saw this Earth burn, and he saw Ross Hockson. "I saw on that mount of Gold a fiery thing; a golden skull with half a horn, and the brand of the dog god, screaming into the sky, telling me of the Ninthlife; It is a Hall of Horrors, and the only way to avoid it is to fight, to fight and to suffer, as Mattes did as the Holy Harelip; He told me his God's Eighteen Eternal Edicts, which transgressing will force the Holy Hand of Mattes, and dan ye unto His Hall for all eternity." These Eternal Edicts are: * I - “10th, our GOD almighty, Him who made us from mud and blood to be the children of longmen and fogmen, holds slavery to be an abomination; unto Him the slave master is the worst of humankind, fit to be tortured in Mattes' Great-Hall until the Fall of Humankind. After such time as it has passed, He will throw the slave masters, along with the whores, politicans, and boyfuckers into the first quadrilateral of Hell. His first eternal edict is 'O' humans, slave not.’” * II - “10th, our GOD who delivered 100,000 of us out from slavery, considers killing a terrible thing - among those actions which he has deemed to cause Him the most offense. Killing an animal for sustenance is an action that He may forgive; even man is to be killed for sustenance in the most extreme of circumstances, as our GOD is an understanding, personable being, one who loves us all more than we could begin to comprehend. It is for such reasons that He wants us to love one another, and to hold our lives, and souls as sacred things. It is for THIS reason that 10th forgives those that kill in self-defense. His second edict is 'O' humans, kill not.' It is the rankest, and most foul abomination to eat one's fellow in such times were life is not threatened. * III - “To kill for hatred is the single greatest offense one can bring to our GOD. Hate is to be banished from one's heart. Where there was once hate, there must be compassion, there must be understanding, love, forgiveness, all the qualities that stem from the grace of our GOD. Yet, as He is a personable GOD, He understand that we are as slaves to our hearts, and emotions, and He forgives you for hatred if you do not act upon it, and at least try to banish it from within the self. His third edict is 'O' humans, feel not hate.’” * IV - "Lying is the domain of lyches; in the words of our GOD 10th, you may lie only to protect others, to save them suffering, and to save yer own life. Lies of the smallest calibers are forgiven immediately if the liar felt ANY regret in their heart, and lies of a larger caliber are forgiven if attempts to avoid them are made. His fourth edict is 'O' humans, lie not.’” * V - “Magicks are manipulations of 10th's own body; thou shalt not manipulate the body of man nor woman, if such edicts are in place then how shall it be permissible to manipulate the body of 10th our GOD? His fifth edict is 'O' humans, magicks are forbidden.' Furthermore, whereas the other edicts have exceptions, this one does not. Magicks are forbidden, and their use will guarantee any wytch or wyzard, warwytch or warlych, mage or otherwise eternal dannation into the second quadrilateral of Hell.” * VI - “Upon yer darkest desires do not act; act not upon a woman or man thou lusts for, attack not the man or woman who has angered thou, and kill not they who have offended ye so. Let the mind be the master of the heart, let logic rein in emotions, and avoid hurting yer fellow living beings at all costs. His sixth edict is 'O' humans, let the mind be the master of yer heart.’” * VII - “He who catches the thief ought to find it in his heart to forgive him. A boy who is starving, and has stolen bread, has done nothing wrong. A man who is wealthy, and steals the coins of the poor, has done everything wrong. Steal bread, not bronze; Steal only to survive, and forgive those who have stolen from you. His seventh edict is 'O' humans, steal not.’” * VIII - “It is a tempting thing to take the gods of yer lady-wife, or yer lord-husband, 10th finds it in his Holy Heart to forgive such a small transgression, but commands that He is to be held above ALL other gods. Furthermore, He commands that images of Him are to be destroyed, or better yet, never be created at all. His likeness is that of reality, we look into His eyes every second of every day, so why ought we to make images in His likeness? 10th further on commands that all likenesses of Him, including paintings, sculptures, and all forms of arts be destroyed as abominations unto Him. His eight edict is 'O' humans, worship others gods above me not, nor shall ye depict me.’” * IX - “10th, our GOD who is Eternity, the Knot o' Nine, commands that all beasts WILL BE slaughtered in such fashion: the beast will not see the weapon, the beast will be given some times with its family before the killing (an hour for a chicken, a day for a cow, or a horse, two days for a pig, and three days for a dog, and an entire week for a cat), and the death of the beast will be kept from its family. Furthermore, a beast will be slaughtered by whosoever at hand is most-skilled. 10th goes on to command that these beasts will be allowed to roam freely in life, that they shall be well-fed, and that they shall all be given names. 10th made these beasts alongside man, and he shall treat their deaths the same as the death of a human. His ninth edict is 'O' humans, slaughter animals in a kind fashion.’” * X - “10th, our GOD, promises the Sefenlander slaves the Lands of Lavender, the Lands of Milk and Honey, those kingdoms which we call the Far West; He holds their redwood forests to be His. Burn the forests not needlessly, and keep the lands clean, and free of cities. He holds Thousandtrees to be an abomination, and an insult unto Him. His eleventh edict is 'O' humans, the Lands of Lavender are MINE, and MINE alone, build there not cities, and burn any cities already there; remember the trees.’” * XI - “10th made men to suffer. Yet He is a loving god. He commands all of humankind to treat their lessers well. He helps those who helps themselves, and those who help others. It need not be gold, nor silver, nor even bronze, but attempting to help, simply showing the other that you truly, truly care is among such actions that make 10th feel the most pride in His creations. His tenth edict is 'O' humans, it need not be gold, but give to thy poor.’” * XII - “10th loves humanity as a mother loves her child. To Him, the unloving mother is as abhorrent as the killer, the rapist, and the thief. However, He tells us that hate is abominable, and so his twelfth edict is 'O' humans, love and respect loving mothers and loving fathers; forgive and respect hateful mothers and hateful fathers.’” * XIII - “Mattes is the God of the Shadow. He sins, and rapes, and murders, and breaks everyone of these edicts. Yet, He is to be loved. He is to be prayed to. He is to be held up along with all the other gods. Without evil, there can be no good. Without shadow, there can be no shine. Mattes is the Father on that Earth, the Warden of His Hall, the Warden of Eternity, and He who shall unto humankind make weredevils. 10th's thirteenth edict is 'O' humans, worship Mattes, for there can be no good without evil.’” * XIV - “Freedmon was born so that slavery could begin to die away. Slavery is an abomination unto 10th our GOD. Yet, we must hold Elkett upon the same pedestal as all the gods. Elkett is the god of suffering, of slavery, and of slave masters. He is the god of the hunt, of the hunters, of the tailors, the slave catchers, and bounty hunters. Yet He is just as important as any other god. 10th's fourteenth edict is 'O' humans, worship Elkett, for there can be no happiness without suffering.’” * XV - “When the Hornmen waged the first war for the Unforbidden (that one true, glorious depiction of 10th sat upon a chariot of blood), they became as abominations. Yet, they are still part of humankind. A mother who births a hornson ought to raise him or be ready to be forgiven. Hate the sin not the sinner. Hate that they were born as they were born, but forgive them for it. For even they have a god - Nari - who cares for bastards, hornmen, boyfuckers, and girlfuckers, sinners, and the danned. 10th's fifteenth edict is 'O' humans, worship Nari, for even hornmen are human.’” * XVI - “10th is as nine, and He lived many lives on this Earth, worship the memory of those men and women, whom we call the Crescent Crowns. Hold Vil the Villainous above any mortal king. Hold Alin the Abominable holy. Hold Aye the Queen who burned the redwoods of the Far West, to be as holy as any goddess. His sixteenth edict is 'O' humans, worship the avatars that I yer GOD lived through.’” * XVII - “The Fall will come as a blyzzard in the sand. It shall burn mighty cities, lay waste to kingdoms, and raise high the wicked, yet humankind ought to always keep in mind the love of GOD. He protects those he loves, and those who have not offended Him. His seventeenth edict is 'O' humans, fear not yer fall.’” * XVIII - “His final edict is 'O' humans, love thyself, love thy fellow humans, love thy beasts of burden, love thy forest creatures, love thy forest, love the brooks, the rivers, the very seas beyond the shores, and the skies above you all, love the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the sun, the moon, for they are all MINE, love ME yer GOD with all yer heart, and all yer might.’” There are several different sects of the Faith o' Nine. The most-popular sect, the Faith o' Nine proper, holds that Erzael was the 1st Father on Earth, the link between humankind, and 10th. They hold that everything he said, and wrote was divinely inspired, and thus they hold that Canetol had come to this Earth as Billow the Slave. The Faith of Freedmen, the most-popular sect in Western Parthalenn, and especially in Haruirrin, holds that Canetol has yet to live as an avatar among humankind. Another important tenet of the Faith o' Nine is that because of 10th becoming as nine, everything in the world was created. This is just the basic creation myth presented by the faith, and seems to have roots in the common animist faiths found in Western Parthalenn 1,000 or so years ago. The Book of Books was written in large part by Freedmon. Freedmon was an ex-slave who led over 100,000 slaves out of from the Rainbow City, and into Haruirrin, where they lay as a large cult until Billow's Rebellion, when they fled to the Delklands away from Mattes the Merciless. Many descendants of the escaped slaves between those two events were led back into slavery, and told the tale of Freedmon to the slaves, filling their hearts with hope. Freedmon preached that it was divine justice to fight slavery. Freedmon argued that 10th loved humans, "He sings the song, and it is one of love, my holy brothers, holy sisters, His song however, is also a call to action." Freedmon argued that 10th wanted humans to make their own place in the world, and that he would not hand it to them on a silver platter. "He, however, does help those who help themselves." Freedmon gestured as the waters of the Anasic Great-Sea dried before the Rainbow City. The slaves were able to cross the new lands, arriving in Harlenn. 10th supposedly had, after splitting himself, and therefore creating our reality, first fashioned longmen of four of his aspects (water, earth, life, and death), humankind of nine of his aspects, and fogmen of all ten of his aspects (this is true, and is simply ancestral memory of the Haunted Isles persisting into modern-day religions). He favored humans, and made Himself nine avatars for his nine "aspects." Freedmon said that Canetol had not come, and predicted that "Canetol shall come for Us All in the days when the sea boils, and the desert is cold like the chains of a slave; From Him, we shall be delivered unto the Lands of Milk and Honey, the Lands of Lavender, Canetol's Kingdom shall be in the Far West, from where Sano Pret forced us out, and we shall retake it as freedmen. His arms shall be rods of gold set with topaz, and His strength will be unimaginable. To put even the Woman of the Walls to shame." Most hold that this was a prediction of Billow's arrival, but in reality, it was just an educated guess as to what would happen. The Delklands had always been something the Western Parthalenners had desired, knowing that they originated from there ethnically, and talk of revolt among the slaves of the Sefenlands had grown larger, and larger in the centuries after the Battle at Mammoth's Grave. In the "New Book of Hope," Erzael detailed Billow's life, as well as the life of Freedmon, and his own. Erzael also wrote about the Fall of Humankind, and how Billow would one day return to wage war against humankind so that they might all be saved from the fires Mattes' Great-Hall. The moral counterparts of the nine aspects of reality are guidance, song, prayer, baptism, fertility, sacrifice, love, honor, and hope. These are called the Truths o' Ten. Their evil counterparts are deceit, discord, blasphemy, dannation, barrenness, narcissism, hate, shame, and despair. These are called the Natural Evils. There are two more aspects to reality; time, and space. Their moral counterparts are wisdom, and pilgrimage. Their mirror reflections foolishness, and apathy Symbolism: The Knot o' Nine is the main symbol of the Faith o' Nine. Category:Organizations Category:Faith Category:Mythology Category:Culture Category:History Category:Faiths